Indian Side Dishes

Indian side dishes can mean a number of things. Firstly there are all those
little bowls you see with pickles, chutneys, raita and the like; you
could also include the breads and poppadoms in this category. Finally
there are lots of vegetable dishes with we tend to regard as side dishes
and whilst they are often eaten like this they can also be a main dish.

While a lot of the time it's we keep things simple in the home as do
most Indians - a meal will consist of just a couple of dishes and maybe
some bread and chutney. But I have done the odd 'banquet' where you
can really go to town and produce a splendid array of dishes.

In India there really are a vast variety of strange things that we
rarely see in this country. Some are remarkably simple such as a Coconut
Pachadi which is coconut, chillis, ginger and coriander leaves
ground together with yoghurt; others like Chana Masala is more
like a main dish used as a side dish.